eipcp

DEFEND STUDENT ACTIVISM

"We call for the UC Berkeley administration to drop
all charges and disciplinary actions against the students involved in the
Architects and Engineering building sit-in on November 18, 2009, the November
20, 2009 Wheeler protest, those arrested in Wheeler Hall on the morning of
December 11, 2009, and the students facing sanctions for flyering on campus.

DEFEND STUDENT ACTIVISM

We the undersigned are
opposed to the university's disciplinary position regarding the students
involved in the Architects and Engineering building sit-in on November 18,
2009, the Wheeler Hall protest November 20, 2009 , the arrests in Wheeler Hall
on the morning of December 11, 2009, and the students that are facing
sanctions for flyering. Over 100 student activists are facing a variety of
charges related to recent protests. UC Berkeley is an institution that widely
advertises its activist past and prides itself on its commitment to the
principles of the Free Speech Movement, but the university is using the
recently revised student code of conduct in a manner that is arbitrary in
order to intimidate and punish student activists who continue to challenge the
increasing privatization of California public education in the UC, CSU, and
community college systems.We reject the accusations that the students involved
in the Wheeler Hall protest put the safety of other students and community
members into question. The November 20, 2009 protest was supported by students
and community members; it was a call to the university to change the way that
it engages with those upon whom its continued operation depends. The
administration not only ignored this call, but is now attempting to silence
student dissent on the campus by physically removing students from the campus.
The December 11, 2009 arrests of over 60 students in Wheeler Hall were made in
bad faith and without a dispersal order. The administration has defended its
decision to threaten two students with sanctions for flyering by saying that
there are clear rules about posting flyers. This use of the student code of
conduct is a tactic of intimidation to silence opposition to the university
administration's position on its direction. We find this unacceptable and
demand that all sanctions against these students be dropped
immediately."